


The Old Man

by Jc27



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, LinkedUniverse - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda
Genre: I didn’t check this before posting, Just dialogue, it’s fun writing dialogue for these two even though I know literally nothing, i’ll die like Wild
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:47:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23881801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jc27/pseuds/Jc27
Summary: I was in the LU discord, somehow ended up writing dialogue between the Old Man/Legend and Hyrule. I discovered I enjoy writing the dialogue, it’s quick, simple, and fun.This will just be a lot of randomness that will probably never fit together.
Relationships: Hyrule & Legend (Linked Universe)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

“Why do you call me a hero? I’m just a traveler. There’s nothing heroic about me.” The boy says.  
The old man’s eyes are angry, “How dare you think so little of yourself? You’ve sacrificed your safety, your life, your happiness, for people you do not know. Only because you know they need help. You...you are the greatest hero I’ve ever known. And I have met heroes of worlds, time, and even a hero who bested a god.”  
“I’ve never heard of such heroes.”  
“You will. You will and I need you to know that you are far stronger than they could possibly believe.”  
-<>-<>-<>-<>-  
“You help me, why is that?” With all the monsters and pain it is stupid to waste time and supplies on another.  
“What I’m doing is not helping. Helping would have been hurt ridding the world of that beast long ago. No...what I’m doing is trying to fix past mistakes.” The old man sighs, he seems tired. “I hope one day you can find it in you to forgive me. For I have failed you.”  
-<>-<>-<>-<>-  
“Old man, why do you look so sad all the tine? The world isn’t that bad.”  
It’s a pitying look the man sends him. “This land should be thriving. There should be festivals, lights, joy. Yet none of that exists here.”  
The young man grows troubled.  
“What is it?”  
“This joy...what does it mean?”  
-<>-<>-<>-<>-  
“Child,” the boy-Hylia he’s only a boy-looks up, “do you have any family? Do you have a mother or father waiting for you? Are they why you fight?”  
The boy frowns, “I fight for survival and because people need help.”  
The old man nods.  
“But,” the child gives the man a confused look, “what do those words mean? Mother, father, and family. I have never heard them before.”  
-<>-<>-<>-<>-  
“Doesn’t it scare you? Being alone in this danger filled world.” The old man asks. The boy wondered why the man found so much trouble with the world. Sure, it wasn’t great, but what was the man comparing it to?  
“I am scared. I’m terrified I won’t make it to tomorrow.” The boy admits.  
“And yet you continue on. You fight.”  
“I can do nothing else. My only choice is to continue.”


	2. Haha, there’s more

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More dialogue, I tried to put more emotion in it. I’m not great at that and will continue to work at getting better.  
> Thanks for reading!

“Old man?” The young boy asked. “Where did you come from? Were you born here? You speak of lands far different than this. Where is your home?”

“I was born in these lands. Raised here too. When I was younger I did adventure across the sea to lands beyond, none of them are my home.”

“You have no home? That’s incredibly sad.”

“Home is with the people I love. The people I care for.” The old man paused. He spoke in a soft voice. “Home is with you, my family.”

“I have no family.”

“Not by blood. This family is much stronger. I hope you can view me as a brother one day.”

“You’re far too old to be my brother.”

“I guess I am. It’s been a long time since I’ve been home. Hadn’t realized how old I’ve gotten.”

-<>-<>-<>-<>-

“Do you think I’m strange?” The young boy asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well...I’ve noticed I’m different from others. My ears are longer and pointed. Goddess statues speak to me. And—“

“And?”

“Magic. I feel it. It’s in my veins. It’s my very core. Magic flows through me and I’ve never seen anyone feel the same.”

“I suppose that does make you different from others.”

“So I’m a freak.”

“Don’t be stupid! Different doesn’t mean freak. Different means unique. It means that no one could ever hope to replicate who you are.”

“My shadow did.”

“You’re shadow is you and not even a real person.”

“Wh—“

“And that means that you can be your own person. You will never be the same as anyone else.”

“...that sounds lonely.”

“It is.”

“I don’t want to be different.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

-<>-<>-<>-<>-

“It’s dark in here. There’s not much color.” The young boy points out.

“I’ve gotten used to it.”

“Why don’t you leave? Yes the world has many problems, but there are so many beautiful scenes. It’s full of color.”

The old man pauses. “I’ve been alive for a long time. With my age came bitterness. Those colors have never seemed alive to me.”

“If you’ve been in here for such a long time maybe the world has become brighter.”

“No, I couldn’t—“

“Too late!” The child grabs the man’s arms. He drags the man out of the cave.

The old man doesn’t have the heart to fight back.

“Look around you. Look at the sun. See the shining sky. Feel the wind surround you. Hear the melody of the creatures.”

The old man sighs. “I’m sorry. My eyes have long lost the ability to see the color the world has gifted us. It’s all dull now.”

The old man returns to his dark cave.

The young boy doesn’t try to drag him out again.

-<>-<>-<>-<>-

“It’s been some time since I last saw you.” The old man said.

The young boy gave an embarrassed grin. “I may have misplaced where you were.”

“You got lost?”

“Mayhaps.”

The old man stared.

And stared.

And stared some more for good measure.

The young boy jumped when the old man began to laugh. It echoed in the small cave.

The young boy grew bright red. “Stop laughing!”

“I’m sorry I’m sorry, it’s just—“ the old man gives the boy a look. The boy can’t identify its emotion—“You remind of someone. Someone whom I look up to.”

“Really? Can I meet them?”

“You’ll know them. You’ll know them as well as you know yourself, give it a few years.”

“Ugh, why?”


	3. Ranting and Rambling

“I saw a pair of siblings today,” The boy tells the man. He has been sharing stories about his adventures and in turn, the man speaks of legends long past. It is an exchange. Story for story, fable for fable, legend for legend. “I think they were twins. The boy was older, rushing unto things while his sister was calmer, smarter with solutions. I liked them.”

The old man smiles. “Siblings, it’s been awhile since I’ve spoken to mine. She must be wondering what’s taking me so long.” He huffs a laugh. “I’ve always been the one keeping her waiting.”

“You have a sister?” The boy asks eagerly. He leans forward, wanting to hear every word.

“Yes, I did.” The man ignores the way the boy’s smile falters. “She was very smart. Wisdom incarnate you could say. I...I didn’t know she was my sister at first. My uncle told me about her in his final breaths and I...She needed help and so I came.”

“What was she like?”

“Kind. Far kinder than I could ever hope to be. She was brave, always willing to stand against those who threatened her home, she got into a lot of trouble because of that. I was stuck with getting her out of it too.”

The boy laughs, “you must have loved her very much to help her, even when you hadn’t known her for long.”

“She was all I had left of my family. I was far too scared of having her leave me too. I was tired of being alone.”

The boy is quiet, “This must be very hard for you. To be all by yourself in this dark cave and no sister to call family.”

“She may have passed on, but she will always be my family and always have my love. Besides,” the man smirks, “with you here I’m not truly alone, am I?”

“I guess not.”

It’s fitting isn’t it? Two people left all alone, finding company in each other, and—perhaps one day—they would find their family in the other.

-<>-<>-<>-<>-

“I heard the most wonderful thing today,” the boy informs the other. “An instrument being played by a traveler. Her music felt like happiness and calm. You would have loved to hear it.”

“Music? It’s been a long time since I heard music.”

“I haven’t heard much of it myself.” The boy says.

The old man wonders if the boy hears the echoes of the monsters instead of sweet melodies. Does the boy hear the call for him blood in every beat of his steps?

The old man once again hates himself.

-<>-<>-<>-<>-

“When I was young, I was very angry at the world.” The Old man begins. “I hated people, plants, everything.”

The boy tilts his head, “Why?”

The Old man snorts. A cruel sound. “I hated the responsibilities on my shoulder. I hated how I never felt connected to people, there was always something in the way. I hated when people asked me for help or to do something.”

The boy, ever perceptive, asks, “And are you still angry?”

The man looks out to the entrance of his cave, “I think I am. I think a part of me will forever feel the burning of anger in my soul.” The man’s gaze turns to the boy, those blue eyes shining with emotion, “But I will not let it consume me. And you, I hope you never let yours consume you.”

“But I’m not angry.” The boy protests.

“Yes you are. I think you’re just too numb to the world to notice. You want every day to be a good one. So you try to ignore the bad, but ignoring it doesn’t do anything. It simply lets the anger fester. Until it slowly boils over. Some nights you’re angry, no reason behind it, you just are. Others, you feel sad, but you think of all the good that happened in your day. Why am I sad if today was such a good day? Why does it hurt to wake up and see the sun shining brighter than anything else?”

The boy sits there, frozen.

He not angry, he not! And he isn’t sad either. He just...is. And because he is he just be happy. There is no other word for it,

“You’re wrong.” The boy says, his voice weaker than intended,

The old man gives him a pitying glance, “You’re too stubborn you admit anything else. You’re fine, of course you are. What right do you have to be anything but? And you feel like you know nothing, can’t read, can’t understand all these old languages. You feel so lost in the world you live in. You—“

“SHUT UP!”

“There’s that anger.”

The boy heaves a breath. “Was all this just to get me mad?”

“I...I don’t know. All these years and I still know nothing.”

“You learned to grow past your hatred.” The boy, ever the people pleaser, states.

“Just as you’ve learned to accept your emotions.”

They are quiet that night.


End file.
